Prognostic Significance of Ezrin Expression in Liposarcoma

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Ezrin has been reported to be involved in the metastasis of solid tumors in both an animal model and clinical trials. However, questions remains as to whether an ezrin expression is an independent predictor of the event-free survival of liposarcoma patients. METHODS: We analyzed 85 liposarcoma patients without metastasis at the time of presentation. We performed immunohistochemistry with anti-ezrin antibody, and we analyzed the association of an ezrin expression with the clinicopathological variables and event-free survival. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients (34.1%) showed an ezrin expression. Among the 30 low-grade liposarcoma patients, only one patient showed ezrin positivity. The patients who had an ezrin expression were found to be at a significantly increased risk for metastasis compared with the patients who had no ezrin expression (risk ratio 3.4, 95% confidence interval 1.3-9.1). The 10-year metastasis-free survival rate was 26.9% for the patients with an ezrin expression and 86.7% for the patients without an ezrin expression. The ezrin expression rate increased with an advanced tumor grade and stage. CONCLUSION: An ezrin expression is an independent predictor of distant metastasis for liposarcoma. Thus, ezrin has the potential to provide additional prognostic information and to be a novel target for the development of new adjuvant therapies for treating the patients who suffer from liposarcoma.